Lunch Lady: Great wall of Chinese food found at Hunan

When I awoke Monday morning, I found Matt Lauer having a great time in Beijing, just like my friend and co-worker Nick Gholson. Nick was sent to the 2008 Summer Games in China to cover the Olympics for Scripps Howard and our family of newspapers across the good ol' U.S. of A. Those of us who know our sports editor well know he's not wandering very far away from McDonald's, and he won't be having any Peking duck while he's there.

I thought it appropriate to celebrate our nation's visit to China this week with a visit to Hunan Chinese Restaurant — about as close to Beijing as I'm going to get, and a good way for my lunch buddies and me to celebrate the Olympic spirit right here in The Falls.

Hunan is on the corner of Maplewood and Mallard Drive, along the big curve before you get to Southwest Parkway. Most drivers on Maplewood are confused and think they're at Indianapolis, so be careful when you slow down to turn into Hunan's parking lot, and use your turn signal — you can thank me for that tip later.

When my lunch buddies and I decided on Hunan, we agreed to meet at noon. LB-1 and LB-2 beat us there by a few minutes. It seems everyone in Wichita Falls had the same idea we had, and the line was lengthy. My lunch buddies were ninth in line and had a healthy wait.

LB-3 and I arrived at Hunan at 10 minutes past noon, and there wasn't a parking place to be seen. I took my chances and copped a spot in the Domino's parking lot. I would not recommend this parking tactic. It's risky. If Hunan is packed, just go on down to their overflow parking area in the old Zocolo parking lot and forgo the towing potential, like LB-1 recommended to begin with!

LB-3 and I passed up the hostess when we spotted our lunch buddies. They had been there a few minutes and already had their egg drop soup, and were ready for a trip through the buffet line.

Hunan's buffet offers 32 Chinese flavors across four stations. I found it a little confusing to figure out which way to go as I kept dipping and dodging around the other guests. The selections are pretty, colorful and full of freshly chopped vegetables. I think if you avoid the battered and fried selections (and there are many) you could eat a carb-free meal at Hunan without much difficulty. The choices were so tempting I didn't even try! Don't miss the salad bar against the wall before you begin your trek through the buffet. There are lots of fresh salad choices and even shrimp on ice.

When we got back to our table, we needed more silverware since two of us arrived late, but that was a challenge as the waitresses were very busy trying to keep the lunch crowd tended. LB-1 went to the service area in the corner and came back with more cutlery.

Our food was delicious; after all, this is Hunan's! I filled my plate with sesame chicken, fried rice, a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and it was all good. You can go back for more. This is an all-you-can-eat buffet after all, but one trip through the buffet was plenty for me.

The dessert buffet was large, and I enjoyed tapioca pudding and a cute little square of orange sponge cake I selected from the many choices I found there. There's even an ice cream machine to keep the kids happy.

I can't complain about the price. With tax and before a tip, the total was $7.88 and a really good lunch value for such a wide array of choices. No one leaves Hunan hungry. That's for sure!

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